Suspicious substance at Evanston post office: Cooking spices

Chicago Tribune, John Huston

Evanston firefighters clean up following a hazardous materials investigation at the Evanston Post Office, 1101 Davis St., on Thursday. A suspicious powder discovered on a package was determined to be Middle Eastern cooking spices.

Evanston firefighters clean up following a hazardous materials investigation at the Evanston Post Office, 1101 Davis St., on Thursday. A suspicious powder discovered on a package was determined to be Middle Eastern cooking spices. (Chicago Tribune, John Huston)

John P. HustonTribune reporter

A suspicious powder discovered on a package at the Evanston Post Office this morning led to a brief evacuation, but it turned out to be cooking spices, according to authorities.

A postal worker was sorting packages at about 9 a.m. and was handling a box about 3-feet by 2-feet by 1.5-feet when he noticed it had some “yellowish, grayish powder on it,” according to Evanston Fire Department Division Chief Dwight Hohl. The powder had gotten onto the worker’s hands and began irritating his throat, Hohl said.

Fire departments from more than 10 area municipalities responded to the call to investigate hazardous materials, and officials blocked Oak Street between Davis and Church streets. Decontamination stations were established outside the Post Office’s rear loading dock, Hohl said.

“It being the Post Office and given past practice, we were thinking the worst,” he said.

By early afternoon, police investigators had reached the Evanston resident who was listed as the package’s recipient. The man was in California on a trip and had mailed himself some Middle Eastern spices, such as red chile powder, turmeric, coriander and flour, Hohl said.

The postal employee was treated by Evanston paramedics for a headache and itching on his arms, but refused to be taken to the hospital, Hohl added.